Leave the Bags & Plan a Staycation

Sometimes what you need most after a vacation is another vacation. If a spring “break” is truly what you’re going for this year, leave the car in the garage and the lines at the airport and stay home. Plan a staycation—all of the fun of a vacay, none of the hassles of traveling. Plus, you’ll probably save a few bucks.

Here’s how to celebrate spring’s arrival with a week at home.

Plan for it. A week off can quickly turn your staycation into five days of mindless snacking parked in front of the TV or Facebook—hardly a getaway. Make an itinerary and a list of things you’d like to do and schedule your days as you would if you were traveling.

Unplug. Just because you’re staying put, it doesn’t mean you have to stay on the grid. Make sure you set up an email auto-response that lets colleagues and clients know you’re on vacation and won’t be available to handle time-sensitive requests.

Get away. (Kind of.) Sitting in your house for all seven days could get old. Be a tourist in your own town and visit places or do things you’d do if a guest came to visit. Need ideas? Check your local tourism center or visitor’s bureau.

Tackle a bucket list item. Make your staycation memorable by trying something new. Go skydiving with your significant other, take the family on a hot air balloon ride, learn a ballroom dance—pick one thing on your bucket list and cross it off.

Camp out. Get in touch with your outdoorsy side and pitch a tent in your own backyard. Make it a family affair, a romantic evening or a girls’ (or guys’) night out, and relax for an evening without your phone or your computer.

Most importantly, de-stress and unwind. That is what you call a break.